The most important issue highlighted in this case is one of boundaries. Specifically, where do jurisdictional boundaries fall when dealing with such a universal tool as the internet. Melchert-Dinkel lives in Minnesota, but his victims were from Canada and England. His defense attorney tried to get the case dismissed on these grounds, arguing that the defendant couldn’t be charged under MN statutes since his alleged victims were from other countries.

The judge has rejected this argument. The result has strong implications for all internet foul play. From now on, it can be argued that activity on the internet transcends national borders and jurisdictions.

Avery Appelman, Criminal Trial Lawyer, Minneapolis – St. Paul, MN

Through what has been referred to as the most extensive media coverage of the William Melchert-Dinkel case anywhere, we have attempted to examine the complexities of what is without a doubt one of the most important trials to date in terms of establishing legal boundaries of conduct within the virtual realms of the Internet.

Despite the bench delivered verdict of guilty, the story is far from over as an appeal to the Appellate Court was a foregone conclusion the moment that Melchert-Dinkel defense lawyer Terry Watkins entered the Lothenbach Plea. This being said the judge’s decision is momentous in that it represents a bridge of accountability between two worlds that while running parallel to one another have been generally viewed as being distinctly unique and separate.

In yesterday’s post I wrote that at least for the moment, the Melchert-Dinkel verdict connects us with our humanity that has far too often been lost in the contentiousness of a world that seems to be at odds with itself. But one question that stands out is whether the ruling in the Serial Suicide Killer’s case heralds a new era in policing the Internet?

Access to the Gallery is limited to blog subscribers only. To subscribe (it’s Free), simply click on the “Never Miss A Beat!” subscribe button at the top of the left side index on the Blog’s Main Page.

Your password to the Gallery will be sent to your e-mail address within 24 hours.

It is an interesting statement on our society that we are at once both repelled and drawn to the serial killer.
Perhaps, and going beyond simple curiosity, the attraction is deeply rooted in our own sense of apprehension as to what it is within these fellow human beings that drives them into the abyss of abhorrent behavior and heinous acts of violence.

After all are not each and everyone of us part of the same human race, which means that while there are distinct differences there are nonetheless enduring similarities that through the right combination of circumstances could unleash within all of us a beast of unimaginable depravity.

Through this lens of empathetic repulsion, Pat’s Gallery of Killers will provide you with an inside look into the hearts and minds of the serial killer.

Taken from the personal files of real life criminal profiler Pat Brown, in each segment of Pat’s Gallery of Serial Killers on Blog Talk Radio you will gain access to her insights and experiences with tracking and commenting on some of the most notorious predators of our time.

“Fast forward to 2010, twenty years after the crime was committed. Somewhere in a Barnes and Noble, a middle-aged Walt Williams is picking up The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths and reading the first few chapters. What does he think? Does he stand there, rage building up in him that Pat Brown has laid the story out, detail for detail? Is he worried police detectives somewhere might think he could be linked to a case in their jurisdiction? Does he simply put the book back on the shelf, walk out of the store, and go back to his life or does he get in his car and drive the two miles from his present home to his old address, the house where Pat Brown lived and still lives. As I Pat Brown Criminal Profiler type these words, is Walt Williams sitting at the end of my driveway, waiting and planning . . .”

As I read the above from one of the few women in the world to become a profiler many thoughts crossed my mind including of all things the television series Criminal Minds.

Specifically, you may recall George Foyet otherwise known as The Reaper, who was a prolific serial killer that Hotch (for the uninitiated, Hotch is Aaron Hotchner, the FBI Unit Chief for the BAU), had once hunted ten years before in Boston.

Without going into great detail, The Reaper played convincingly by C. Thomas Howell, re-emerges and ultimately kills Hotchner’s wife because the Unit Chief continued to pursue him.

The Reaper

In a life imitating art twist, Walt Williams is Pat Brown’s Reaper who despite strong convictions in law enforcement circles that he is a cold blooded killer, freely walks amongst us today. As William’s Hotchner, Pat Brown not only launched her famed career through shining the light of scrutiny on Williams as a viable suspect, she continues to relentlessly pursue Williams.

It is a deadly tango of perseverance and the pursuit of truth and justice with the predatory survivor skills of a possible killer.

And while it is often true that narcissistic hunters rarely care enough about their prey to make it personal, the one certainty in the life of a criminal profiler is that nothing . . . absolutely nothing, is out of the realms of possibility.

As we consider the state of mind of Walter Williams, and the unpredictability of his possible reactions to being “profiled” in Pat’s latest book, the one question that invariably comes up again and again . . . will the accused killer that started Pat’s career also be the one to end it through a violent attack in the same manner as The Reaper ended Haley Brooks Hotchner’s life?

Has the hunter become the hunted?

If you were Pat Brown (or FBI Agent Hotchner), would you continue to pursue a cold blooded killer?